Overland Expo’s “Ultimate Build” Honda Africa Twin Is Up For Auction
A loaded 2021 Africa Twin Adventure Sports for a good cause.
If you’re looking for a top-shelf turnkey adventure bike with low mileage and all the bells and whistles, better jump on the Bring a Trailer website, where you’ll find Overland Expo’s “Ultimate Build” Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT up for auction this week.
Not only is this Africa Twin accessorized to be super functional and ready for a long haul adventure, all the proceeds from its sale will go to the Overland Expo Foundation which helps educate overlanders, protect public lands, support trail restoration and defend off-road use of overland vehicles and adventure bikes.
The Africa Twin, a 2021 Adventure Sports ES DCT edition in Darkness Black Metallic, was accessorized by Overland Expo’s Motorcycle Community Ambassador, Eva Rupert, who picked out some premium kit.
For protection this bike employs Outback Motortek’s Ultimate Protection MAX combo system, which includes upper and lower crash bars integrated with a rugged skid plate. I mention Outback Motortek’s crash bar and skid plate system first because in addition to protecting the AT’s vulnerable mechanicals and underbelly, it’s also carrying a lot of the bike’s accessories, most notably, a SuperWinch LT2000 and custom-fabricated housing. Yup, an onboard winch. Not something you see too often on ADV bikes (or even think about), but there it is if you need it.
Also mounted on the crash bars is an auxiliary lighting system from Denali, which includes D7 and D2 LED Light Kits and T3 SwitchBack Signal Pods on the back for safety. That’s a hell of a lot of lumens (15,000 just from the D7s), and both front kits come with Denali’s plug and play Data Dim technology that automatically switches the lights between half and full intensity via your vehicle’s high beam switch. Denali’s PowerHub2 Power Distribution Module resides under the seat, allowing you to safely connect up to six electronic devices by consolidating all the battery connections and fuses into one compact housing.
As far as luggage goes, this Africa twin is laden with both hard and soft options. First there’s the sleek, black 10-inch Challenger Panniers and 45L Challenger Top Box set from Jesse Luggage, which includes lid racks, lid bags, and mounting racks. You need those mounting racks for your soft luggage set from Wolfman, which includes a waterproof Rolie bag to top each pannier, a waterproof Expedition Duffle for the back seat and Enduro Tank Bag to top it all off.
A couple of handy Garmin items come with the bike: An InReach Mini to keep on your person for satellite messaging and search-and-rescue initiation (membership required) as well as a bar-mounted, removable Zumo XT for navigation.
A re-tooled seat from KonTour uses a visually striking Polar Mesh outer layer that’s said to circulate air in the hottest of temperatures. In the ride and equipment testing reports on this Africa Twin project (it has its own page on Overland Expo’s website), this technology scored high points for both comfort and temperature control.
Foldable Adventure Mirrors with Ram Mounts from DoubleTake replace the fragile stock mirrors, while AltRider Radiator Guards round out the bike’s defense system. AltRider also supplied its DualControl Brake System with 25.4mm Riser (an ergonomic add-on that increases the surface area of the stock rear brake foot lever) and a Side Stand Enlarger.
Heidenau K60 Scout tires were chosen for this build for their promise of longevity, but note in photos on the auction site they appear to be fairly worn.
The bike itself also has quite a few signs of wear and tear, despite its relatively low mileage. The beautiful and pricey Jesse Panniers are both scraped up, as are the Motortek crash bars, especially on the right side, which correlates with scrapes on the AT engine’s gold crankcase cover and frame letting us know this bike had some downtime and at least one major dump. But hey, now there’s no need to sweat over that first scratch, right?
Because here’s the thing. The Africa Twin Adventure Sports is a pretty neat bike stock. Sure the automated DCT, despite its manual thumb shifter option, is polarizing, especially among expert riders. But there are some definite pros to this now 11-year-old system, some that are very relevant to serious off-road riders, such as not needing to shift gears while standing on the pegs, and being able to focus on challenging technical sections or water crossings without needing to stir the gear box.
The stock bike’s got enough room and decent power for long on-road stints, and with a 6.6 gallon tank on the Adventure Sports model, stops are on your terms. Travel is adequate at 9.1 inches front and 8.7 inches in the rear. Plus you’ve got those spoked wheels, including the coveted 21-inch hoop up front, and a full raft of electronics, including cruise control
Add all of Overland Expo’s well-chosen kit and you’ve got an Africa Twin that’s ready for anything.
And so far, it looks like this “Ultimate Build” Overland Expo project bike could be a bargain. The stock 2021 machine sells for $17,999, before tax and destination charges. Our tally on adventure-minded extras added to the machine total is around $7500, which means replicating this bike would cost more than $25,000. Plus you get all the warm fuzzies knowing 100% of the dough you spend goes right back into our sport, including protecting our trails and right to ride them.
At the time of writing, Lot #59055’s high bid is $17,500 with just 4 days to go. Bidding ends Monday, November 8 at 11:10am PST. Check it out at www.bringatrailer.com
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So much farkle